Here Are 4 Simple Ways You Can Go Green Today
It turns out that Kermit was wrong. In reality, it’s actually pretty easy being green. Simply read through the little lifestyle changes below so you can start making smarter, eco-friendly choices for green living that work for you and your family.
1. Reduce your water use
Everybody loves a nice warm shower, especially in the dead of winter. But with fresh water becoming increasingly scarce, all of us using too much water can quickly cause droughts in many areas. Ten-minute showers are all most of us really need, and ideally, we should be aiming for only five minutes. Just spending one less minute in the shower each day will very quickly add up to saving thousands of liters of water a year.
Not only will you save water by spending less time in the shower, but it will also translate into big savings on your water and electricity bills. You can also install more water-efficient fixtures like showerheads, faucets, and toilets to reduce your water use and save money without even trying. While you’ll need to spend a little money upfront on water-efficient fixtures and tapware, that money will quickly come back into your pocket via savings from your utility bills.
2. Change your daily commute
If you live close enough to your workplace, riding a bike or walking to work each day is a great way to go green that is also much better for your health. Plus, alternatives to driving like walking or biking to work will also save you heaps of money each week on fuel and parking. Just by leaving your car in the garage 3 days a week can see your greenhouse gas emissions reduced by an average of 2000 kilograms a year.
Unfortunately, there are many people whose work is too far from home, or who don’t live in bike or pedestrian-friendly cities. So, if these options aren’t possible for you, you may still be able to drive less by taking public transport or organizing a carpool to reduce your emissions. You can also use electric car-sharing companies like Evee to rent Teslas. Once you start changing your habits and driving less, you’ll be able to reduce your carbon footprint while also keeping your waistline slimmer and your wallet fatter.
3. Proper waste disposal
The 3Rs of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle is still good advice for us all to save money while reducing the impact our waste has on the environment. Reduce your waste by reusing and recycling items where possible rather than throwing them away just to have them end up in landfills. You should also remove all the extra junk from your trunk, as lighter cars will use much less fuel which also saves you money.
It’s also very important that you always dispose of your waste safely and recycle everything correctly. One of the best methods of ensuring your waste ends up at the right place is by arranging it all to be picked up by professionals, especially for your end-of-lease clean-ups. From toxic household chemicals to old computers, and fluorescent lights to busted white goods, we all need to work together so that nothing goes to landfills unnecessarily.
4. Upgrade your lightbulbs
Instantly turn your home or commercial property into an eco-friendly dream by removing all of your old lights and replacing them with energy-efficient bulbs. New style LED (Light Emitting Diode) and CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) are more efficient in wattage terms than incandescent and halogen style light bulbs, which means they’ll save you a bundle of cash with each power bill. Similarly, purchasing LED grow lights that mimic sunlight will bring many benefits, such as creating a healthy environment in your room.
While LED and CFL bulbs are more expensive to purchase than regular bulbs, the slightly higher upfront costs are more than worth it. Because not only will your electricity bills be considerably cheaper, but they will also last over ten times longer than your old ones. Plus they also give off much brighter light than traditional incandescent bulbs. In the end, switching out all the light bulbs in your home will save you so much money over time, you’ll kick yourself for not changing them sooner.
Author Bio:
Luke Fitzpatrick has been published in a variety of publications such as Forbes, Tech In Asia and The Next Web. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Sydney, lecturing in cross-cultural management and the pre-MBA program.
